Achraf Hakimi Faces Appeals Court Hearing on Rape Charge

In the shadow of Paris, one of world football’s most prominent full-backs is stepping into a very different arena.

Achraf Hakimi, the 27-year-old Morocco international and Paris Saint-Germain defender, faces a crucial hearing before the Versailles appeals court that will help determine whether he stands trial on a rape charge.

Appeals court to examine case

The court, west of the French capital, is set to examine whether the charge against Hakimi will stand as brought or be downgraded to a lesser offence. If the appeal is rejected and the accusation is not reduced, the case will move to a full trial, with a date yet to be fixed.

The case stems from a complaint filed in February 2023. A woman, then 24, told police in the Val-de-Marne area, southeast of Paris, that Hakimi had raped her.

Following that complaint, Hakimi was formally charged and placed under judicial supervision. In February this year, investigating authorities decided the case should be sent to trial, triggering the current appeal process.

Hakimi denies any wrongdoing.

Conflicting accounts

According to a police source at the time, the plaintiff said she met Hakimi in January 2023 via Instagram. She later went to his home in a taxi that she said was ordered by the player.

Once there, she claimed Hakimi kissed her and touched her without her consent before raping her. She told police she managed to push him away and text a friend, who then came to collect her.

During an earlier referral hearing, Hakimi’s lawyer, Fanny Colin, attacked the strength of the case, arguing that “the accusation rests solely on the word of a woman who obstructed all investigations, refused all medical examinations and DNA tests (and) refused to give the name of key witnesses”.

Contacted by AFP ahead of the appeals hearing, Colin declined to comment.

Star on the pitch, scrutiny off it

Hakimi’s legal battle runs parallel to the peak years of a career that has already taken him through some of Europe’s elite clubs.

He joined PSG in 2021 from Inter Milan, having previously worn the colours of Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund. For Morocco, he has become a symbol of a golden generation, playing a pivotal role in the Atlas Lions’ historic run to the 2022 World Cup semi-finals — the first time an African and Arab nation had reached the last four.

On the pitch, his calendar remains loaded. He is expected to be in the PSG side when the defending champions face Arsenal in the Champions League final on May 30 in Budapest, a showcase that should place him again under the brightest spotlight in club football.

The demands do not ease at international level. Hakimi is certain to be part of Morocco’s squad when they launch their World Cup campaign on June 13 in New Jersey, opening Group C against Brazil, with Scotland and Haiti also in the group.

Between now and then, the Versailles appeals court will take its next step. How that decision lands will shape not only the course of a trial, but the backdrop to one of the most scrutinised seasons of Hakimi’s career.